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On Astronauts, Cupcakes & Instagram

What Singers Can Learn From A 1983 Space Movie

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Ever watched “The Right Stuff”? It’s a 1983 movie about the Navy, Marine and Air Force test pilots who were involved in aeronautical research programs in the late 1940’s to the early 1960s. It culminates with the first manned spaceflight by the United States. Rings a bell? Anyway, it’s really good. And you can learn something from it.

In the movie we follow seven test pilots who are chosen to be astronauts for the famous Project Mercury. We see them get electrocuted, put through daylong psychological tests and spun around in weird post-war test machines. Exciting stuff. Yet a substantial part of the film deals with the astronauts’ relationship with the press.

Where are we getting at with this, you ask?

Well, the movie shows how the astronauts used public relations to gain influence in the space program. Even though their professional skills were all about maneuvering complex machinery, they had to learn how to control the press before they could define what it meant to be an astronaut.

Still don’t see where we’re going?

Alright, we’ll give you a hint. Astronauts are singers. Press is social media.

What we’re trying to get at is this: Many singers are reluctant to promote themselves on platforms like Instagram because they feel that the platform shifts the attention away from their music. They want their creative work to be the center of attention, not themselves and their everyday life.

If you’ve ever thought about promoting your band/yourself on Instagram, but hesitated because of concerns similar to those just described, here’s an alternative angle on the subject:

It’s really not about you - It’s about your audience wanting to relate.

You see, your audience don’t really care what kind of cupcakes you made the other day. Blueberry/Raspberry – Potato/Potatoe. But if they bake cupcakes too, they’ll find you relatable. If they find you relatable, chances are that they’ll check out your profile and see a bunch of the pictures you’ve uploaded. And what do you know? One of the captions goes: ”Cupcake for my Valentine will be playing a gig next Saturday – free entry for Cupcake lovers”. And you’ve just won yourself a new fan!

Alright, of course we’re just making a hypothetical example here. We mean, who would ever dream of baking potato-cupcakes? But you get the point. It’s all about making yourself relatable.

One of the best examples we’ve come across of singers using Instagram in a perfect way is Alice Kristiansen. This 19 year old New Yorker has a killer Instagram profile. At the moment of writing, she has just below 20.000 followers. And she has gained that many followers simply by posting pictures of herself and her everyday life. That’s really impressive.

Once in a while she’ll post a picture that relates to her music, but mainly it’s just about things she’s interested in; fashion, nature, food, animals etc.

And you know what? It’s all really relatable.

Lately, Alice has been posting some pictures and videos of herself doing cover songs with the VoiceLive Touch 2. For some reason we found that really relatable. Click. Now we follow Alice too.

But enough with the rambling about space, cupcakes and social media. We’re guessing you came here to hear Alice’s performance with the VoiceLive Touch 2? Well, here it is! “Where Are Ü Now” performed by the social media astronaut know as Alice Kristiansen.

BTW: If you’re on Instagram you should give Alice a follow. Her username is alicelk. TC-Helicon also has an Instagram profile. Just saying.

We are a dedicated group of specialists convinced that the voice is the most beautiful instrument in the world, many of us being musicians, producers and DJs ourselves. With a range of innovative products, we inspire, respect and empower modern vocalists.